I know a lot of people have a preconceived idea that we hunters are a mad bunch of port swigging crazies who never made the cut in the competition world; That we all gallop hell for leather in a group of likeminded nutbags, fueled by hip flasks of delectable alcoholic beverages, towards ridiculous sized logs, barbed wire fences and white water rapids streaming through our hunt fields. Perhaps they think our hounds run like the wind and rip apart foxes with their bare teeth while our white breeches are covered with the Dexter style over spray of fresh blood.
Did you know not all of the above is true?
We don’t have hounds! We don’t chase foxes and most of us are so practiced, calculating and careful that we’re a lot less gung ho than you imagine. Many hunters also compete in eventing, dressage and other horse sports but also enjoy the non competitive camaraderie of our social sport. We hunt the food and the company at the end of our ride while still enjoying the dress code and many traditions of the old English fox hunting days.
Many of you would have watched my journey over the past few months to find myself a new hunter. A hunt horse is a very special character who has many desirable qualities all rolled into one magical animal.
First and foremost they need to be able to jump. I don’t just mean show jump rails that safely drop to the ground if touched, I mean solid logs and cap fences to around the height of 80cm. Larger ones are always optional. Our hunt jumps can be unforgiving and a horse that touches jumps is likely to cause a rotational fall and that’s just dangerous!
They need to be good at floating. We often travel half an hour to an hour each way to the hunts, sometimes three or more to a state hunt! (Luckily hosted locally by the Strathalbyn Hunt Club this year 2019) Once floated they also need to be ok with tying up at the float before and after the hunt.
They’ve got to be of sound mind. A hunter needs to cope in a large group of horses and be mindful of their rider no matter what’s going on around them. A horse that’s too anxious to focus on their rider will not make a good partner in the hunt field.
They’ve got to be responsive. If you’ve got a mad bolter, they’ll not only pass the master (which is a big no no) but they’ll be dangerous if you cannot pull them up. Bolting the jumps leads to bad take off and landings and often misjudging the jump itself. They need to be ok with horses passing them at speed, sometimes at close proximity.
They need to turn well. Sometimes we have to duck and weave through scrub and the horses need to turn off our legs and hands. Low hanging branches in the eye are never fun!
The horses have got to enjoy it. Hunts can be long. Two to four hours with a small break in the middle. If they’re not enjoying themselves they won’t settle well and you’ll have an exhausting battle on your hands.
They need to learn to conserve energy, taking advantage of a loose rein given during a walk section or standing quietly in a break. Horses that fidget and jig jog will use up their energy reserves rather quickly. Tired horses and become unreasonable and less responsive to our aids.
They need to be fit enough to cope with all of the above. Not just a leisurely once a week forest stroll or a half hour jumping session, I mean really fit. I like to get my horses fit with long forest rides, some flatwork, some groundwork and only a few jumps mid week, especially at the start of the season while the ground is so hard. It’s my responsibility as a rider to make sure my horse is ready for the job I ask of him.
Some of the above qualities above are must haves, and other things can be worked on with training and time.
Ocean today showed me that he can definitely jump, but we will take time to work on our style. He’s got the clearance but sometimes we get too close and he cat leaps. Some of the larger ones he stopped at. He showed me he enjoyed it with his ears forward during our ride. He was easy to stop with my legs and hands, I felt very comfortable in our snaffle bit. I did opt for a martingale today to make sure any head tossing didn’t get too high. Head tossing can come from anxiety so we will work through this with more groundwork at home.
Ocean isn’t the best floater and paws a lot, but he loads well so I am sure that he will settle in time. He tied up by the float but he was doing the hokey pokey with his front legs, however he never pulled back or ran away. I give him bonus points for this.
I can see that with some time and practice, Ocean is going to make an exceptional hunter, just like my others before him. Floyd, Ollie, Hottee and now Ocean!